Chris Buchanan works with a young campgoer named Mason Woodard during a summer program at Jameson Camp. Mason, then 8, is now 11 and continues to attend the camp. / Jameson Camp

Written by

A group of high school students sat around a table last summer at Jameson Camp -- a Westside nonprofit for kids who in many cases face tremendous obstacles -- and told me how summer days and nights spent there had led to so many improvements in their lives.

They talked about stepped-up performance in school, higher levels of confidence, better relationships with their parents, and even a deeper understanding of the importance of strong character.

As we ate lunch that afternoon, I mainly sat back and listened. It was an inspiring whirlwind of a conversation with a group of young people who soon will be heading off into adulthood. At one point, a high school student from Indianapolis, told me she never would have imagined herself as a leader before landing at Jameson Camp several summers earlier.

But now she does. And for good reason; she had risen over the years from camp-goer to one of the camp’s Youth Leaders, charged with helping a new generation of younger kids develop and prosper like she has.

Jameson Camp is a 100-acre hidden gem that deserves to be a household name. Tucked off of West Washington Street, a few miles from Downtown, it is a sprawling wooded site that feels like a state park and serves 450 kids each year during a series of roughly week-long summer camps. Most of the children live below the poverty level, and many struggle with social and emotional challenges. They arrive in some cases dealing with issues such as autism or homelessness, and one of the summer’s residential camps serves kids affected by HIV and AIDS.

They’re great kids who without Jameson camp might not find one that fit their needs.

“Every child is different,” program director Tim Nowak said. “What this camp does is provide a positive outlet that they might not find elsewhere in their lives.”

The program is filled with youth development and character development activities, with challenges such as a climbing tower and zip lines, and nightly skits and camaraderie-building programs.

Many campers move into the Jameson leadership program as they grow older — a promotion of sorts that helps them learn to collaborate, communicate, lead teams and motivate others. Essentially, Nowak said, the program instills traits that employers down the road will seek from the young people.

(Page 2 of 2)

Programs like this one move the city forward, one young person at a time. They provide opportunities for children, ages 7 to 17, who might otherwise miss out on the experiences so many other kids receive. But funding is a challenge; the camp operates on a tight margin. The more money it can raise from contributors, the more children it can serve. That’s why The Star’s Season for Sharing campaign is highlighting and supporting programs like this one.

“The more that these kiddos attend camp, the greater chance you will see things click with them,” Nowak said. “They see success. They build relationships. For a lot of these kids, unfortunately, that is very new.”

Dan Shepley, Jameson’s executive director, talked last week about a student with autism who had suffered such bullying and teasing that he’d considered dropping out of school and even suicide. But at the camp he found support and respect and, in the short-term, it helped him summon the courage to go back to school. He is now a graduate.

Year after year, the staff watches as once shy, nervous campers move into leadership positions.

“I’ve heard so many stories from youth leaders and parents about how the experience here helped them start thinking about life after high school and a career or college,” Shepley said. “No one in their family had gone to college but when they got here and got into leadership they said, ‘Oh, that is something I should start thinking about. That is something I can do.’ ”